Prepare the Way of the Lord

Sometimes when I read this Gospel passage, I think to myself how boring it would be to go hiking if all the mountains got lowered and all the valleys were filled up, and the trails got paved over and made smooth and straight. But of course, that’s not what this Gospel passage is referring to. It’s not referring to a literal physical transformation of the face of the earth, but to an interior purification of our hearts.

And, what is the purpose of this purification? It tells us at the end of the reading: “All flesh shall see the salvation of God.” It’s so that we can see God with a pure heart, just like it says in the Beatitudes of the Gospel, “blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.”

But, how does this purification happen? St. John the Baptist tells us, “By the repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” And, one of the best ways for us to receive this forgiveness is in the sacrament of confession.

In confession, Jesus removes the mountains of our sinful deeds, fills in the valleys of our defects, he straightens our crooked and wandering thoughts, and smooths the roughness and harshness caused by our uncharitable words towards others. Confession removes these obstacles that keep us separated from God so we can keep our eyes focused on Him alone.

We have to admit though, sometimes it’s difficult to go to confession, so there are two things I’d like to mention that might help. First, is that the more often we go—once a week or once every two weeks is a good benchmark—the easier it will become to go, since, 1) it becomes a habit and 2) we will begin to feel the healing effects of the sacrament on our souls. The second thing I’d like to mention is that we have to remember that any movement of our hearts—any desire whatsoever, no matter how small—is a precious gift from God, given to us through the hands of Mary, and we cannot let it go to waste.

So, we can ask Our Lady for the grace of contrition and to accompany us even into the confessional. It may even help to have a rosary in hand while you’re in there to remember the intercession Our Lady offers us to be reconciled with her Son.

There in confession, the Blood of the Lamb is sprinkled on us to make us pure so that we can see God. May Our Lady obtain for us the grace to make good, frequent confessions, so that we can focus on the one mountain worth climbing—the mountain of the Lord—and become the saints God is calling us to be.